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Pool guy, landscaper of $18 million foreclosure winner subpoenaed

The pool guy, plumber and lawn man for a Palm Beach Gardens homeowner who recently won an $18 million settlement in a foreclosure-related lawsuit are being sought for questioning by the bank still seeking to repossess her home.

Lynn Szymoniak, a 63-year-old attorney who specializes in white collar crime, shot to national fame last year when she was featured on the CBS news show 60 minutes for her role in uncovering widespread mortgage and foreclosure fraud after finding it in her own 2008 case.

This month, it was announced she would receive $18 million from a whistle-blower lawsuit filed under the federal False Claims Act, which allows the government to bring civil actions against entities that knowingly use or cause the use of false documents to obtain money from the government.

Deutsche Bank, which filed to foreclose on $759,428 in unpaid principal against Szymoniak in 2008, sent notice to her attorney Monday that it plans to depose eight companies that have done work on her home including her plumber, air conditioning repair firm, landscaper and two pool service companies.

Szymoniak said because her loan was taken out to renovate her home, including installing hardwood floors and upgrading bathrooms, the bank may be trying to determine whether she actually used the money for the designated purpose.

But she said the move is unusual in a foreclosure case, and because the requests are so lengthy, including a demand for all communications between the company and herself, she said it’s more likely a form of harassment or an effort to increase court costs.

“It’s just them saying ‘How can we dirty her up as best we can,'” Szymoniak said. “It would almost be funny to see my yard guy come in. The one guy didn’t even start servicing my pool until four months ago.”

A representative from American Home Mortgage Servicing, Inc., which services Szymoniak’s loan, said she was looking into the reason beind the subpoena and would respond to the Palm Beach Post’s request for comment by the end of the day.

Last year, shortly after appearing on 60 Minutes, Deutsche Bank’s case was thrown out of court after it was ruled it couldn’t prove ownership of the mortgage. It re-filed the foreclosure in May, but also included Szymoniak’s son, Mark Cullen, in the case. Cullen, who was not on the mortgage, was a graduate student living in New York at the time.

“Now, every time my son fills out a loan application he has to say he was sued for foreclosure,” Szymoniak said, noting that Deutsche eventually dropped Cullen from the suit.

Szymoniak won’t receive the $18 million settlement for at least two months and plans to pay off the mortgage as well as donate to several charities.

“Until I can pay this mortgage off, Deutsche Bank will just continue to run up fees and try to harass the living hell out of me,” she said.